The Way I Loved You
by LetTheRadioBreakTheSilence
Summary: Shane falls for Jason's sister, who is going on tour with them. Will he be able to convince her overprotective brother that he really cares about her, or will he be forced to live without the girl he loves? ShanexOC. READ AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I got really into this story so it's almost finished. I'll post chapter two once I get…10 reviews?**

"Dude, have you checked out the backup dancers yet? Jason said they're really good."

Shane looked up from his Blackberry to his friend Nate. He knew that the dancers had started rehearsing this week, but he hadn't had time to watch them yet. He wasn't doing anything important right now, though. "No, do you want to go watch for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, come on," Nate nodded.

Shane shoved his phone into his pocket and followed his friend out of the studio. They had been practicing, but some girl Jason had been trying to hook up with had called him and he _promised _he'd only be gone for an hour – but that was three hours ago.

They walked down the long hallway to the large dance rehearsal space and pushed the door open, trying to stay quiet. They watched the lines of dancers through the window of the viewing room.

"And one, two, three, four…"

Shane glanced at the girl who was calling out to the other dancers – she was gorgeous. She was tall and petite, and even if he'd just seen her on the street, he would have known she was a dancer. She had long, reddish-blonde hair that was pulled into a loose ponytail. She wore black leggings and a pink cropped shirt; her feet were bare.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. The way her perfect body moved was so sexy. He thought he could watch her dance forever.

"Okay, that's enough for today. Really good job, guys," she smiled at the other dancers.

"Do you want to grab some dinner?" Nate asked him.

He glanced away from the girl for the first time since he'd noticed her. "Um…no, I'm not that hungry. Go ahead without me."

"Okay," Nate nodded. "See ya later."

"Bye," Shane called after him absentmindedly.

He watched the girl for a few more moments. She sat down and drank some water while the other dancers gathered their stuff, but as soon as they left she got up and kept dancing. He wondered if she was actually the choreographer. Either way, he knew he had to talk to her.

He took a step out of the viewing room and into the studio, but she didn't notice him. He liked that she was so focused on what she was doing. He got that way with music, and a lot of people didn't understand.

"Hi."

She stopped dancing and jumped a little, whipping around to face him. She had a look of surprise on her face, and he felt kind of bad for interrupting her. "Oh…hi. You scared me."

"Sorry," he smiled. He liked the way her voice sounded. "I…um…are you the choreographer?"

"Yeah," she nodded, popping the cap off of her water bottle and taking a sip. "I'm Kaylie."

"I'm Shane."

She smirked a little and sheepishly pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I know."

He liked her smile. She was even prettier up-close. "You look pretty young…to be dancing like, professionally."

"I'm eighteen," she replied, a little defensively.

Shane could feel himself smiling again. She was only a year younger than him. "Well…you're really amazing."

Kaylie blushed. He thought she was adorable. "Thanks."

"Why did you start dancing?"

"My brother was always playing his guitar when I was growing up…we both love music, I guess we just have different ways of expressing it. One day, I started dancing and I just never stopped," she shrugged. "I can't be in a bad mood when I'm dancing."

"That's really cool," he said genuinely. He felt like he really got her already and he barely even knew her. "That's exactly how I feel about music. No matter what's going on…if I'm playing, it's all okay for a few minutes."

T o most people, that probably would have sounded ridiculous – but she seemed to understand. "Yeah…"

They were both silent for a moment. Shane was surprisingly nervous. He wasn't sure what he should do next. She was so beautiful. Would it be weird to ask her if she wanted to go out to dinner or something? She was their choreographer, so they were going to have to be around each other for awhile. What if she said no? That would be awkward. He got lost in his thoughts, and when he looked up at her again, she was smiling.

"Are we going to stand here all night or are you going to ask me to have dinner with you?"

Shane laughed. He liked that she was being forward, but he was a little embarrassed that it had been so obvious what he was thinking about. "Who said I wanted to ask you to have dinner with me?"

"Fine," she smirked, shoving her water bottle into her gym bag and putting it over her shoulder. "Two can play that game."

She turned and started walking towards the door. Shane couldn't help but watch her walk away, her small hips swaying from side-to-side. That is, until he realized that she had her hand on the doorknob and was actually about to leave.

"Wait!"

He hadn't meant to sound so panicked. She turned away and glanced at him, a look of amusement painted across her face. "Yes?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Have dinner with me?"

She nodded. "Let me take a quick shower, okay? I've been dancing for hours."

If she looked this beautiful when she was tired and sweaty, he couldn't imagine how gorgeous she would be when she'd had time to get ready for their date. Was it a date? He wasn't sure. He just knew he wanted to spend more time with Kaylie. "Okay. Do you just want to meet in the lobby in an hour?"

"Sounds good," she smiled. "I'll see you then."

"Yeah, see ya," he called after her as she disappeared from the room.

He glanced at his watch. He might as well take a shower, too, to waste some time. An hour seemed like forever when he was waiting to spend time with her.

**A/N: DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!! THANKS FOR READING!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Lucky for you, I am awake at 4am so I will post the next chapter. Please, please,**_**please**_** review, even if it's just to say that you read it. I see some of you adding alerts but not reviewing!**

"Where have you been?" Jason smirked when Shane walked into their living room.

Shane couldn't help but grin. He had had the best time with Kaylie that night. They'd gone to dinner at this little café where nobody would bother them, and then they walked down to the beach. They must have been there for hours, just sitting in the sand and talking about everything. She was so easy to talk to. And when the night was over, he kissed her, and it was perfect. When he snaked his arms around her waist, she fit against his body like she was meant to be there, and he thought that maybe she was. He'd never met anyone like her. He couldn't wait to see her again – he hadn't even waited until he'd got home to text her and tell her just that.

"I met this girl…she's amazing," Shane sighed happily.

"Where'd you meet her?" Jason asked, laughing at his friend's excitement. "Did you kiss her?"

"Yeah…she's one of our dancers. We went to watch them rehearse for a little while today and I _had_ to talk to her."

Jason looked at him suspiciously. "What's her name?"

"Kaylie."

Her name had barely escaped his lips when he felt himself being thrown against the wall. Jason looked into his eyes furiously. "Stay away from her!"

"What the fuck?" Shane shouted, confused. He tried to struggle out of his friend's grip, but he was the smaller of the two men and failed.

"How could you do that to me?!" Jason screamed.

Shane had never seen him this angry. Especially towards him. "Do _what_?!"

"How could you kiss my little sister?!"

"You're _what?_"

Shane was shocked. That seemed like it should have been the first thing Kaylie told him. Why wouldn't she tell him that she was his best friend's sister? She told him everything else.

"You are…" Jason started.

Shane interrupted him. "Dude, I didn't know she was your sister! She didn't tell me. Why didn't you tell me your sister was going to choreograph our show?"

Jason looked at him for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he was telling the truth. Apparently, he decided that he was. "I didn't want people to think that the only reason she got the job was because she was my sister. She's an incredible dancer."

"Yeah, I know," Shane replied, hoping that it wasn't the wrong thing to say. His friend still looked angry and he didn't want to do anything to cause another reaction like the last one.

"Just…just stay away from her, okay?"

Shane bit his lip as Jason looked at him expectantly. He would never do anything, intentionally, at least, to screw up their friendship…he just honestly wasn't sure that he _could _stay away from her. Not after how he'd felt when he was with her that night.

"_Okay?_"

Shane ran his fingers through his hair nervously. "Don't you think…I mean, she's going to be on tour with us. She'll probably be around you a lot, which means she'll probably be around me a lot, so I just think it would be pretty hard to stay away from her for the next few months."

Jason sighed dramatically, getting angry again. "Then make it clear to her that you are just friends, and that is all you will ever be. And DO NOT kiss her again. Ever."

Shane nodded slowly. He hoped that the disappointment he was feeling inside wasn't obvious to his friend. "Okay. We'll just be friends."

"Good. And don't make it obvious that it's because I said so. She'll just try to get back at me for it."

"Okay," Shane said again. "I'm going to…uh…go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"'Night," Jason mumbled, turning back to the video game he had been playing.

Shane hurried up the stairs and collapsed onto his bed. He had never felt a connection with anyone like he had felt tonight with Kaylie. He had never really, _really_ wanted more from a girl than just a hook-up. Why did this one, special girl, have to be his best friend's little sister? It wasn't fair. How was he going to tell her that they could only be friends? She knew that they had something, and she didn't seem like the kind of girl who would just accept any stupid explanation he could come up with.

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He cringed; he knew it was a text message from her, a reply to the one he had sent her on his way home – the one where he said he couldn't wait to see her again. And now he wouldn't be able to, and she would think he was a liar. He glanced at the screen and read the message: _me either_ ;-*) _sweet dreams!_

Yeah, right. There was no way he would be having pleasant dreams tonight. He probably wouldn't even be able to fall asleep. He thought about calling her and telling her that he wasn't comfortable dating his friend's sister, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to hurt her, even though he knew he had to. Maybe if he just ignored her for a few days she would lose interest, but he doubted it. They had really connected – if it was _half_ was hard for her to forget that as it was going to be for him, just ignoring her wasn't going to accomplish anything.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her perfect face, her beautiful smile, her pretty red hair. Her laugh echoed in his ears, and he could still feel his lips tingling from their kiss. He wished he hadn't said anything to Jason. His friend would have found out soon enough, but maybe he would have gotten to kiss Kaylie one more time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, where have you been hiding all day?"

Shane's entire body tensed when he heard Kaylie's voice. She was joking, but he really had been hiding from her all day. He'd wanted to sneak out before the dancers got done rehearsing, but they were having trouble getting a new song right and had practiced later than usual. He had said a prayer that she was still dancing so he could sneak out, but she was talking to one of the other dancers in the hallway.

He turned around slowly, but he couldn't stop a smile from creeping across his face when he saw her. She was so beautiful, and she looked so happy to see him. He wished he could wrap his arms around her small waist and greet her the way he wanted to.

"Oh, um…hi…" he stuttered.

"How was practice?" she asked.

He wanted to tell her about how frustrated he was with the new song, and how many times he'd screwed up the words. It was probably because he was too busy thinking about her and how the hell he was going to tell her that he didn't think of her as more than a friend.

"Good," he replied quickly.

Kaylie looked at him suspiciously. He tried to act cool, but his heart was beating so loudly he was sure she could hear it. "Is something bothering you?"

He didn't know what to say. Yes, something was bothering him, but it wasn't her fault. He didn't want to have to hurt her. He'd stayed up all last night trying to figure out a way to reason with Jason, but he had been so angry when he found out about the kiss that Shane couldn't think of anything that would convince his friend that it was okay.

"No…" he started, but he could tell by the look on her face that she didn't believe him. "Well...okay, a little…"

"What is it?"

He sighed. "Why didn't you tell me that you were Jason's little sister?"

She looked surprised. "You didn't know? I thought that's why you came to our rehearsal…to introduce yourself."

"No, I didn't know."

"You really couldn't tell?" she smirked. "Everyone says we're really alike."

He shook his head. Looking back, he could see a lot of similarities between them. He just wished he'd noticed sooner.

She shrugged. "Well, now you know. Are you done for the night? Do you want to hang out or something?"

Shane's heart sunk. He had almost been hoping that she hadn't told him on purpose. Then he could have been mad at her, and it would have made this easier to do. "No…look, I think we should just be friends, okay? I don't feel comfortable being anything more with my best friend's little sister."

Kaylie gave him that look again, like she was reading his mind. She studied him for a moment, not saying anything.

"You're lying."

He couldn't decide whether he was glad that she had figured that out or not. He didn't want her to think that he was trying to hurt her feelings; but at the same time, he knew he had to do this, and lying was the only way he knew how. "No, I'm not."

"Then look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't feel anything towards me."

Shane glanced down at the floor. He couldn't bring himself to do that. He turned around and started walking toward the exit to the parking lot. "I don't have time for this."

"What did he say to you?"

He stopped walking. This was harder than he thought it would be. He heard her footsteps coming towards him. "Nothing, Kaylie. We shouldn't talk about this here. Someone might hear us."

"Fine," she said simply.

She started walking towards the parking lot, and he followed her. He pressed the button on his keychain to unlock his doors and climbed into the driver's seat, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. He understood why Jason was uncomfortable with the situation, but he couldn't help but be angry at his friend. He hadn't even given Shane a chance to explain. It was all really unlike him.

He jumped when he heard the passenger's side door of his SUV open. He opened his eyes quickly to see Kaylie sitting next to him, staring at him patiently.

"What are you doing?" he asked slowly.

"No one can hear us here," she explained. "So talk. What did he say to you?"

He gave her a desperate look. "Kaylie, can you please just get out of my car?"

She ignored his question and repeated hers. "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing. Why don't you believe me?"

She was quiet for a moment. "Fine. I guess you're the kind of guy Jay always warns me about."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The kind of guy that is only nice to a girl if he wants to sleep with her. If he doesn't get what he wants, he moves on," she replied nonchalantly, opening the door.

"It wasn't like that!" he said quickly and angrily. "He told me to stay away from you!"

She looked at him and smirked, closing the door again. He mentally kicked himself for opening his mouth – she had tricked him. He should have just let her go.

"Shane, look. I know Jay can be a little overprotective of me…" she started.

"A _little_?"

Kaylie laughed. Shane wished it didn't make him feel so good that he had made her laugh. "Okay, he's crazy. But…I like you. He just doesn't want me to get hurt. He'll get over it."

She kissed him softly, and he felt his entire body react. Kissing her felt so right, but he couldn't get Jason's voice out of his head: "DO NOT kiss her again. Ever."

He reluctantly pulled away from her and looked at her sadly. "I like you, too…a lot. But Jason is my best friend…I don't want to do anything to screw that up. All I can be is your friend."

"Just let me talk to him, okay?" she smiled at him sweetly.

"No, Kaylie. You can't say anything to him. I said I wouldn't tell you."

"Fine," she replied flatly. She opened the door to his car and got out. "You'll change your mind."

She slammed the door shut before he could say anything else. Shane wanted nothing more than to chase after her and kiss her again, but he knew he couldn't. He shoved his key into the ignition and started his car. As soon as he got home, he was going to go to sleep. Eventually, maybe it would make him forget.


	4. Chapter 4

Shane stumbled into the kitchen groggily and opened the door of the refrigerator. He hadn't been able to sleep very well since he had told Kaylie that they could only be friends almost two weeks ago. He had spoken to her since then, but it wasn't the same. They hadn't _really_ talked, like they had the first day they met. He wouldn't admit it, but he missed her. He missed her _a lot_. He thought it was just easier to try to avoid her than to pretend he didn't have feelings for her. But the tour started in a week, and it would be even harder to avoid seeing her then.

He was starting to get really nervous about the tour. He just couldn't concentrate on the music. His mind was always on Kaylie. They'd started rehearsing with the dancers a few days ago, and he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her. Nate and Jason had noticed how distracted he was, but luckily, they hadn't noticed _why_.

"Can't sleep either?"

He jumped at the voice. He glanced over to the counter and saw Kaylie sitting on it, legs crossed Indian-style. She was dipping slices of apple into the jar of peanut butter.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. According to the clock on the microwave, it was almost 3am.

She swallowed the piece of apple she had been chewing before she answered. "Jason found out that I was staying at a hotel…I didn't want to bother him so I told him I was staying at a friend's place…so he's forcing me to stay in a guest bedroom until the tour starts."

His jaw dropped. How was he supposed to avoid her when they were living in the same house? He tried his hardest not to let his eyes drift over her perfect body, but failed. He looked her up and down, and immediately wished he hadn't. She was wearing a tight white tank top and pink boy shorts that left her long, toned legs almost entirely exposed. Her hair fell around her face and she wore dark-framed glasses. She had no makeup on, but he still thought she looked very pretty. She looked more natural, and he didn't usually like that, but it was different with her. He saw a lot of things differently when it came to Kaylie.

"Want some?" she pointed to her food.

He realized he was staring and hoped it wasn't too obvious. "Peanut butter on apples? No thanks."

"Have you ever tried it?" she asked. He shook his head. "Try it."

She held out an apple covered in peanut butter to him.

"No. That's weird," he smirked.

"Come on, try it," she giggled.

Kaylie jumped down from the counter and cornered him. She shoved the apple into his mouth.

"Hey!" Shane laughed, chewing the food that had been forced upon him. "Okay, it's not that bad…actually, wow, that's really good."

She grinned up at him and he realized how close they were. His body went on alert and he slowly drew in a deep breath. His eyes drifted from hers down to her lips, and all he wanted to do was kiss her. But he knew he couldn't.

"I…um…" he started, trying to find a way to put distance between them. The seductive look in her eyes was making him nervous. He didn't know how long he could resist it. "Do you know who's take-out is in the fridge?"

He moved back towards the fridge and opened the door, pretending to consider the contents carefully.

She looked at him, annoyed and a little disappointed, before returning to her place on the countertop. "Yeah, it's mine. You can have it."

"Where did you go?" he asked, opening the Styrofoam box and pulling a fork out of a drawer.

"Arpeggios'," she replied. "I had a date."

Her words, and the way she emphasized them, shot a pang of jealousy through him. He knew he couldn't have her, but that didn't mean he wanted anyone else to have her, either.

"With who?" he asked, sounding more irritated than he had intended to.

She shrugged. "Just some guy. You don't know him."

"Where did you meet him?"

She smiled at him, amused. "Why do you care, _friend_?"

Shane sighed heavily. "Don't start this again, please?"

"You're the one asking questions," she pointed out, dipping another apple into the jar of peanut butter and biting into it.

"Well, forget I asked, okay?" he told her. He sat down at the kitchen table with the takeout box. "Can we talk about something else? Anything else?"

"_Anything_ else?" she smiled, moving from the counter to the table. "Tell me your deepest, darkest secret."

He laughed at the expression of excitement on her face. If anyone else had requested that of him, he would have shot them down immediately. But it was different with her. He felt comfortable telling her things. It helped to know that she would keep anything he told her private – she was used to it, having Jason as a brother. He thought for a moment; he had a lot of secrets. There weren't many people he trusted, so he kept a lot of things to himself.

"You first."

"Okay…" she replied. She thought silently for a moment. "I've never really had a boyfriend."

"Seriously?" Shane asked, surprised. He thought a girl like her would have had a million boyfriends.

She shrugged, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "I mean, I've had hook-ups and stuff, but I've never had a guy who actually did nice things for me…romantic stuff. I guess Jay has a reason to be so overprotective of me. I've never made good choices when it comes to guys. He just doesn't want to see me get used anymore."

Shane wanted to be the guy who did romantic stuff for her. He understood why Jason wanted him to stay away from her, though; he'd always been the other kind of guy – the one who was only looking for one thing. But it wasn't like that with her. He just wished Jason could see that.

"It wouldn't be that way if…" he started, but caught himself. Telling her what he was thinking would just make it harder to stay away from her. "I mean, you deserve better than that."

"If we were together," she said quietly.

"What? Kaylie, don't…"

"It wouldn't be that way if we were together. That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?" she asked, but her eyes told him that she already knew the answer.

He sighed. "Yeah, but…"

"Let me talk to Jay," Kaylie interrupted him. She put her hand on his and he felt himself tense again. "I can get him to back off, so he won't be mad at you for wanting to be with me. And if he doesn't change his mind, I'll tell him you didn't know I was going to talk to him about it…that we haven't talked about having a relationship. We're going to see a movie tomorrow night after rehearsal, I can bring it up then."

Shane considered it for a moment before he nodded his head. "Okay."

She grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "It's all going to work out."

He hoped she was right. He'd never wanted anything else like he wanted her. He pushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He liked just being near her.

"Hey, it's your turn," she smiled. "What's your secret?"

"Oh, um…I had really bad ADHD when I was younger," he admitted. "I've grown out of it, mostly…but my mind is always racing. The only time its quiet is when I'm making music, and lately…"

"What? You can tell me."

He looked into her pretty brown eyes, a little embarrassed. "When I'm with you."

Kaylie grinned and pressed her lips to his. He wanted so badly to deepen the kiss, but he had promised his best friend that he wouldn't kiss her, and he wanted to keep that promise. Hopefully, he'd be able to kiss her all he wanted in a couple of days. He pulled away and looked at her apologetically.

"I know, I know," she smiled. "I'm sorry."

"I hope you're right," he whispered. Their faces were still so close together that their foreheads were touching. "I hope he changes his mind."

"Don't worry. He will," she promised. "I'm gonna go back to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

She kissed his cheek again, stood up, and walked towards the staircase. As he watched her hips moving, and remembered the jealousy he'd felt earlier.

"Wait," he called after her quietly. She turned around and looked at him expectantly. "Your date…"

"Yeah?"

He bit his lip nervously, not really sure he wanted to know the answer to his question. "Did you kiss him?"

She laughed and shook her head. "I would've felt weird kissing him while I was thinking about another guy."

A grin spread across Shane's face. He was trying not to get his hopes up that she would be able to change Jason's mind, but he couldn't help it. He just wanted to be with her. She was perfect for him, and he wanted to be able to show her how much he cared about her. "Good night."

"Sweet dreams."

**A/N: Pleaaassssssssseeeeeeeeeeee review! I finished the story last night. It's nine chapters long (if anyone was wondering? I don't know.) Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I meant to post this last night but I ended up staying at the library until 1am studying…anyways, this chapter and the next are both pretty short so I decided to post them at the same time, and the next one isn't really exciting, but I needed a filler.**

"Shane, what the hell has been up with you?" Nate shouted and stopped strumming his guitar.

Shane ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. He had screwed up the song again. He just couldn't concentrate. Kaylie was supposed to talk to Jason last night. He tried to stay up until they got home so he could talk to her, but they were out really late and he'd fallen asleep. She left the house earlier than usual so he didn't see her before he came to the studio. He hadn't heard from her that morning, and Jason hadn't said anything about it.

Maybe she hadn't brought it up. Or maybe she had and it hadn't gone well. He was more afraid of the latter. He had gotten his hopes so high that they would be able to be together. He had planned the first date he would take her on to the very last detail. To not actually be able to take her on it would kill him.

"I'm just…uh…really stressed out," he lied. "Sorry. I'll get it this time."

He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He retrieved it and flipped it open to see the text message. It was from Kaylie: _we're taking a break 4 lunch. can u sneak away 4 a few minutes?_

His heart started pounding. "Uh, you know what, I think I just need a break. Can we pick up in like half an hour?"

Nate nodded. "Fine with me. I'm getting hungry anyways. Jason?"

"Yeah, I could eat," he agreed. He glanced at his watch. "We could take a break for an hour and meet back here at 1:30."

"Sounds good. Thanks," Shane replied. "I just need to clear my head. I've…well, my mind has been somewhere else."

"Is everything cool?" Nate asked, setting his guitar back in its case.

"Yeah, it's cool," he assured his friend quickly. He didn't need either of them asking too many questions. "I'll see you guys in an hour."

"See ya," they called to him as they disappeared from the room.

Shane hit the 'reply' button on his cell phone's screen and typed his message furiously: _yeah r u in the studio?_

Only a few seconds after he'd sent his message, he received a reply from her: _yeah._

_Be right there,_ he responded before he shoved his phone back into his pocket and practically ran down the hallway to the dance studio.

He opened the door slowly, trying to appear casual. He didn't want to go racing in if there were still other dancers in the studio. When he stepped into the room, though, he saw that Kaylie was the only other person there.

"Hey," he said, catching her attention.

She grinned and jogged towards him. When she was close enough, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"Whoa…talk to me," he muttered, breaking the kiss. He wanted to hear the words before he got too excited.

"It's okay, Jay understands," she told him excitedly. "He just said that he doesn't want to hear about it, or see us acting like we're dating…stuff like that. He said that he wants us to be happy, but it would be weird to see his best friend kissing or holding hands with his sister, or hearing about our relationship and stuff."

"That's understandable," Shane admitted, breaking into a grin.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, kissing her deeply. He could finally do that without feeling guilty about it, and it was better than he had even imagined. He'd never felt this way about any girl before – he never wanted to let go of her.

He should have known that Jason would understand. They were best friends. Jason wanted to see his sister with someone who wasn't going to hurt her. Shane should have just told him how he felt about Kaylie the first night. If he had shown his friend that he wasn't just looking to hook-up with her, he probably would have been okay with it from the start. None of that mattered now, though. She was his, and he was going to treat her like she deserved to be treated. He'd never really been somebody's boyfriend before – committed relationships weren't usually his style – but he was going to be the best boyfriend he could be.

Shane broke the kiss and looked at her affectionately. He touched her cheek and smiled down at her. There were no words to describe how happy he felt.

"So are you gonna ask me to have dinner with you tonight or not?" she smirked, mimicking the comment she made on the first day they met.

He laughed. "I'm gonna ask you to have dinner with me tonight. And tomorrow night. And the night after that, and the night after that…"

"I think I'm free," she grinned.

"And lunch right now?" he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. He glanced at his watch. "I only have 45 minutes left, but…"

"Then I guess it's a good thing I brought lunch for both of us," she replied sweetly. "Come on, it's in the green room."

He kissed her again. "You're amazing."


	6. Chapter 6

"Which one of them are you taking home tonight?" Jason smirked, looking around at the girls who had come for the meet-and-greet after the show.

Shane laughed uncomfortably. Jason made comments like that all the time. Shane always laughed, but it was getting old. He could take the teasing, but since things had started getting really serious between him and Kaylie, he didn't even like joking about being with other girls.

They were a month into the tour, and it was easier than he thought to make sure that Jason didn't get uncomfortable around them. Shane would have felt weird kissing Kaylie in front of her brother, anyways, so it was never a problem. Since they all got separate hotel rooms on the tour, they could spend a lot of time together without worrying about Jason like they had to when they were all staying in the same house. Shane wished that he could talk to his best friend about what was going on in his life, but he had to respect that he didn't want to hear about it.

He couldn't even describe how he felt when he was with Kaylie. She just got him. He could tell her anything and he knew she would understand. They had fun together. Even if they were just lounging around watching television, just being near her made him feel like everything was perfect.

But she was stubborn. She had a way of getting whatever she wanted. And she was flirty. He hated watching her talk to the male dancers. It wasn't that he thought she wasn't faithful. He was just becoming very protective of her, and he had started to understand why Jason acted the way he did about her. There was something about her that made him want to take care of her.

He thought about her all the way back to the hotel. As soon as they got there, he hurried to her room and knocked on the door.

"Hey," Kaylie grinned when she saw him.

Shane walked into the room and kissed her, kicking the door closed behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Ah-hem…"

Shane broke the kiss and looked towards the sound of the voice. It was Matt, one of their male dancers.

"I'm just gonna go…" he said uncomfortably, trying to maneuver passed them to the door.

"Matt," Kaylie called after him. "Can you just…not say anything about this to anyone else?"

"Your secret's safe with me."

Shane watched the other man close the door behind him. "What was he doing in here?"

"I was helping him with a part of the dance he's been having trouble with," she replied. She sounded as though she didn't see why he would have any problem with another guy being in her hotel room.

"It couldn't wait until the morning when you could go to the studio?" he asked, annoyed.

Kaylie smirked. "Are you jealous?"

"No," he lied. "I just…I just don't like other guys being in here, okay?"

She gave him that sweet smile – the one she always gave him so that she could get her way. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"Then why does it matter who's in here? It's not like I'm letting them into my bedroom. I'm the choreographer; my dancers are going to be in here, male and female."

Shane sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

She smiled up at him and rested her hands on the base of his neck, pulling his face to hers. She rested her forehead on his. "Now where were we?"

She kissed him sweetly. He pulled her close and deepened the kiss, but he was still thinking about what had just happened. She had that power over him, to make him apologize even when he hadn't done anything wrong. It scared him – he'd never cared about anyone else's feelings enough to do that. He was starting to think that he…

"Kaylie," Shane said, breaking the kiss.

She looked up at him expectantly, but he didn't know what to say. He'd never said…that, before. He shook his head, trying to push the thought from his mind.

She smiled mischievously and pulled him across the room. "You know, there is _one_ person I let into my bedroom…"


	7. Chapter 7

"Which one of them are you taking home tonight?" Jason smirked, looking around at the girls who had come for the meet-and-greet after the show.

Shane couldn't even force a laugh. After two months of the same comment every night, he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked his friend.

"Right now?"

"Well...I guess it can wait a little while," Shane admitted.

The meet-and-greet was only a few minutes long, so he milled around the room and signed some autographs while he tried to figure out exactly what he was going to say to Jason. He was relieved when their security guard told him that they were going back to the hotel.

"Hang on, we'll be right there," Jason called to them. He waited until their managers had left the room and they were alone. "What's up?"

"I just...are you trying to break us up or something?" Shane asked.

Jason stared at him, confused. "What?"

"Do you make that comment every night to try to get me to cheat? So you can tell Kaylie and she'll break up with me?"

"_Break up with you_?" Jason repeated, his expression changing from confusion to anger. He shoved his friend. "What part of 'don't date my sister' wasn't clear to you?"

Shane wasn't sure what to say. "The part where you changed your mind?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Kaylie said…" he started, trying to piece together everything that had happened in the last few minutes. "She said that she talked to you about it, and you were okay with us being together as long as you didn't have to hear about it…"

"You told her that I was the reason you broke up with her?" Jason asked.

"It slipped out…" Shane admitted.

Jason sighed. He seemed less angry than he had been a moment ago. "Kay always finds a way to get what she wants."

Shane's heart dropped as he realized that she'd never talked to Jason about them.

"She lied to me?" he asked sadly, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," Jason replied. He seemed to be struggling with whether or not he should be angry at his friend or compassionate towards him. Shane was praying he would decide on the latter. "Come on. When we get back to the hotel, break up with her. And you _better_ stay away from her for the rest of the tour."

Shane didn't respond to his friend's threatening words. Jason turned around and left the room, leaving his heartbroken friend standing by himself in the large, empty room.

Shane closed his eyes. He was mad that she lied to him, but at the same time, he was glad that she had. The last two months had been the best of his life. He had always felt like there was something missing from his life, and now he knew – it was her. He didn't want to break up with her, but he didn't want to risk his friendship with Jason, either. They had been best friends forever, and if Jason hated him, the band would probably break up, too.

"But I'm in love with her," he said quietly.

That was the first time he said it aloud. He had been planning on telling her that night.

He walked out to the car and got in, making sure to avoid Jason's glare. He kept his eyes on the floor and didn't speak to anyone the entire way back to the hotel. When they got there, he slowly walked to her room. _I'm about to break up with the only girl I ever loved,_ he kept thinking. It killed him. He had promised that he wouldn't hurt her – that he would be different than the other guys.

He knocked on Kaylie's door quietly. He heard her unlocking the door from the other side. He put on a neutral face so she couldn't see how devastated he was.

Her face fell as soon as she saw him. "What's wrong?"

Shane glanced down at the floor. He couldn't stand to look her in the eyes. He wished that she didn't get him the way she did; she knew something was wrong immediately. It just made it even harder. He couldn't imagine being without her now that he had fallen in love with her.

"Jason knows about us," he said quietly. "And I know that you lied to me."

"Shane…"

He held up his hand to stop her from speaking. "Just let me do this. Jason is my best friend, and he hates me right now. He told me to stay away from you in the beginning, and that's what I'm going to have to do. I can't see you anymore."

"But I…" she started again. Shane could see the tears welling in her eyes and it broke his heart into even more pieces.

"Please just don't say anything," he begged her. "I'm sorry."

He hurried to the elevator before she could respond and pressed the button for the fourth floor. The look on her face was ingrained into his memory. She looked heartbroken – almost like she might have been in love with him, too. He tried not to think about that. When the doors opened again, he stepped off the elevator and disappeared into his room, collapsing onto the bed. He prayed that he would wake up and it would all be a bad dream, and that they would still be together.

He was angry with Jason. He should want them to be happy, not make them break up because he can't handle the fact that his little sister _might_ get hurt. She was hurt now, that was for sure. He couldn't believe that he had made her cry. He should be the one telling her that everything is going to be alright when she cried, not the one causing it. It killed him to think that he would never get to hug her, or kiss her, or even just talk to her, ever again. She probably hated him. He wouldn't blame her if she did.

Shane pulled the covers over his head and tried to forget everything that had happened. But he couldn't get that thought out of his head: _I just broke up with the only girl I ever loved._


	8. Chapter 8

Shane cringed as he heard Nate strum the guitar chords for their next song. It was his least favorite part of the show, because Kaylie danced around him during part of the song. It was too hard to be that close to her and not be able to touch her. All he could think about was wrapping his arms around her and telling her how sorry he was, and that he would never, ever hurt her again. It had been a week since they'd spoken…since he'd broken up with her. He could barely even look at Jason; he was still furious with him for making him end their relationship. Jason almost seemed like he felt bad, at least a little, but he didn't say anything about it.

He took his microphone and began to sing, trying his hardest to look enthusiastic for the crowd.

"_Well here we are again_

_Throwing punch lines, no one wins_

_As the morning sun begins to rise_

_We're fading fast_

_And we won't work this out_

_No we're not gonna work this out tonight…_

_So I'll give a kiss and say goodbye_

'_Cuz we're not gonna work this out tonight…"_

Kaylie came into his view and his breath caught in his chest. He'd watch her dance this a million times before, he knew her body, but something seemed off. She seemed off-balance, like she wasn't trying that hard. He tried to catch her glance to see if she was okay, but she wouldn't look at him.

"_Every single word's been said_

_Broke each other's hearts again…"_

Shane felt Kaylie grab his arm and looked over just in time to catch her as she fainted. He dropped his microphone and swooped her into his arms, bride-style. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He was fearing for the girl he loved.

"Kaylie! Kaylie, wake up," he begged her. "Open your eyes, please."

He carried her offstage quickly and into one of the dressing rooms. Jason and the paramedics followed behind him. He set her down on the couch and touched her face gently. He could hear Nate playing a solo onstage to distract the crowd.

"Does she have any history of fainting? Anything you think could have caused it?" one the paramedics asked them.

Shane ignored the question. If she did, she hadn't told him. He couldn't concentrate on anything but her limp body in front of him, which suddenly looked so frail.

"I don't think she's been eating," he heard Jason tell the paramedics. "She's struggled with anorexia in the past…when she gets really upset, sometimes she starts to relapse…"

Shane looked up at his friend in shock as the paramedics put an IV into Kaylie's arm. He didn't know what to say. She hadn't told him that she used to be anorexic. He knew it was more common with dancers, but he didn't understand how she could look at herself and not see the beautiful girl that he saw. He was the one who had made her upset. He had broken her heart. He had pushed her to the edge, and he was the reason this was all happening now.

Jason seemed to read his mind. He shook his head. "This isn't your fault."

"Shane? What's going on?"

He turned his attention back to Kaylie, who was looking around the room, obviously confused. "You fainted while you were dancing."

"Onstage?" she asked, embarrassed.

"Kay, how long has it been since you've eaten?" Jason asked her seriously.

She looked away from him uncomfortably. "I don't know…a few days, I guess."

He sat down on the edge of the couch next to her. "You should've told me. I could have helped you. We've been through this before."

_That's what it is_, Shane thought to himself. She hid it well, but he had seen it in her, and that was what made him want to take care of her. She was fragile. She was fragile, and he had broken her.

"I'm not speaking to you, remember?" she said quietly.

Jason sighed, annoyed. "Fine. Is she going to be okay?" he asked, and the paramedics nodded. He stood up and walked towards the door. "Come on, Shane, we have to get back out there."

"No," he replied, not looking towards his friend.

"What?"

"I'm staying with her," Shane said firmly. He didn't care if Jason got mad. He loved her, and he wasn't going to leave until he knew she was okay. Stopping them from being together didn't stop him from loving her. "Play some songs that I don't sing on much."

Jason met his defiant stare for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay."

Shane watched his friend leave the room, surprised, before he turned back to Kaylie. He looked into her deep brown eyes apologetically. He was still kneeling next to her. "I'm so, so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know," she smiled sadly. "But you did."

"I'm sorry," he said again. "It's just that…"

She shook her head to stop him from speaking. "You don't have to break up with me again. I got it the first time…loud and clear."

He hung his head. He should have refused to break up with her. Jason would've gotten over it, eventually. He just didn't understand how to be in love. He'd never been in love with any other girl before. He watched her close her eyes again.

"Kaylie, hey, stay awake," he said quietly. He looked at the coffee table and grabbed a granola bar from the spread of food. "Eat this, please?"

He tore open the wrapper and handed it to her. She took a small bite and chewed it slowly.

"I guess now you know all my secrets," she told him.

Shane just sighed. It wasn't fair – they should be together. An uncomfortable silence fell upon them, and he had a feeling she was thinking the exact same thing.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Kaylie shrugged weakly. "It's embarrassing. People always look at me differently once they find out...it's in the past, and I try to keep it there."

"Kaylie," he whispered. He just wanted to take all her pain away. "You don't have to be embarrassed to tell me anything. Ever. Especially something as important as that."

"I just…I was so happy with you. I didn't think it would ever be a problem again, so I didn't tell you," she admitted. "I've been okay, mostly, for a couple years…when I get depressed, I sometimes start to slip a little…but I couldn't imagine ever being unhappy with you in my life."

Shane wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but he knew it would only hurt her more knowing that he felt that way about her but still couldn't be with her.

"We should get you back to the hotel," he said. He glanced up at the paramedics to make sure it was okay.

"We'll take you. She should be on the IV a little longer."


	9. Chapter 9

Shane sat in a chair next to Kaylie's bed. He wasn't sure how long they'd been back at the hotel, but he expected the other guys to be back soon. She'd fallen asleep almost as soon as he set her down in her bed and pulled the covers over her body, but he was too afraid to leave her side. If anything happened to her, he didn't know what he would do.

He missed being able to crawl into bed next to her and wrap his arms around her waist. He just wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, and he wanted to mean it. To be able to take all her pain away. To make her see how beautiful she was. To tell her how much he loved her.

"I love you, Kaylie," he whispered. He knew she couldn't hear her, but he needed to tell her anyways. He wouldn't get the chance when she was awake.

There was a knock at the door. He got up and opened it, not surprised to see Jason there.

"How's she doing?"

"She's sleeping," he replied simply.

Jason looked at him uncomfortably for a moment. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, I guess," Shane agreed reluctantly.

"Let's go to my room so we don't wake her up," Jason suggested, heading for the elevator.

Shane followed him. When they reached Jason's room and stepped inside, he stood awkwardly near the door. He wasn't even sure how to act around his best friend anymore. He resented him for keeping them apart, but he needed a friend now more than ever.

"What's up?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn't think he really wanted to hear what his friend had to say. Lately, it seemed like whenever they talked, he ended up getting hit. But Jason had already taken Kaylie away from him, so nothing else really seemed to matter.

Jason sat down in a chair and rested his head in his hands. He didn't say anything for several minutes, which only made Shane more uncomfortable. He wanted to walk out of the room and go back to Kaylie, to make sure that she was still okay.

"You know why I didn't want you to date her, right?" he finally said.

"Because I usually just hook-up with girls and she's been hurt by guys like me before," Shane replied, not sure where this conversation was going.

Jason nodded. He was quiet again for a moment. "It's different now. You care about her."

"It's been different from the start," Shane promised. He looked his friend square in the eyes. "I love her."

"I was afraid that this was going to happen…that she was going to stop eating when I made you break up with her. But I thought I would be able to be there for her and make sure she was okay…that she would come to me, like she always has. But after you broke up with her, she came and started screaming at me, and then she wouldn't talk to me. She was doing so well…I thought it was over. God, it was such a nightmare when it was bad. You don't understand. Seriously, be glad you don't understand. I thought if I could just protect her, everything would be okay…but I can't protect her from everything. I don't want to see her get hurt again. I just want her to be happy. You, too…you're my best friend. I know I haven't been a great friend to you for the past few months. I should have just listened to her," Jason admitted. "She's in love with you."

Shane's eyes widened. His heart started pounding. He hoped he had heard that right. "Did she say that?"

Jason nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, she did."

"So…"

"So…I guess you should be together," Jason sighed. "It's okay. I don't like it, but it shouldn't be about me. I want her to be happy, and you make her happy. After I saw you take care of her today, I realized that you really care about her. I've never seen you like that with another girl. But I swear to God, if you ever hurt her…"

"I won't," Shane grinned. "Never."

"And you can't protect her from everything, either," Jason reminded him. "But you still better try to."

She grinned and nodded. He stood, looking at his friend for a moment. He wasn't sure what was supposed to happen next.

"Are you waiting to be excused or something?" Jason laughed. "Go. Make my sister happy. And then make sure she eats something."

Shane bolted out of the room and down the stairs to Kaylie's door. He still had her key in his pocket from when he had opened her door earlier, so he slid it into the card reader and pushed the door open.

He sat down next to her on the bed and nudged her gently. "Kaylie, wake up. Come on."

"Hmm?" she mumbled groggily, her eyes fluttering open to meet his.

He kissed her. When he broke the kiss and smiled down at her, she looked up at him, confused and surprised.

"It's okay," he grinned. "Jason said he's okay with us being together."

"Really?" she asked excitedly.

He nodded. He touched her cheek gently. "Kaylie…I'm in love with you. I was so afraid that I'd never get to tell you that. I love you so much."

She grinned. "I love you, too, Shane."

"I want you to talk to someone, about the eating," he told her seriously.

Kaylie shook her head. "I'm fine, really, I just…"

"You're not going to do that thing you always do and get your way," he interrupted her. "Not this time. You need to talk to someone. I want you to be healthy."

She bit her lip nervously. He could only imagine what kinds of memories were running through her mind at that moment, but he wasn't going to back down. She sighed. "Okay."

"Now I'm supposed to feed you," he told her, handing her a room service menu. "It was part of the deal."

She laughed and pulled his face towards hers, pressing her lips against his. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Sure, she was stubborn. And she almost always got her way. Yeah, she'd probably still be flirty around other guys, and Shane would be a little jealous. Yes, he'd probably always watch what she was eating carefully when she was even a little bit upset, just to make sure that they would never get back to this point. She wasn't perfect, and he knew that.

But she was perfect for him.

**A/N: The end! Please review! Thanks for reading! I kind of love them, but I feel like I write too many Shane stories and I usually fail at sequels, so I might write a Jason or Nate story and have Shane and Kaylie be secondary characters. We will see.  
**


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